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Online Library of Liberty The OLL is a curated collection of scholarly works that engage with vital questions of liberty.

Spanning the centuries from Hammurabi to Hume, and collecting material on topics from art and economics to law and political theory, the OLL provides you with a rich variety of texts to explore and consider.

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The Reading Room

The OLL blog explores the fascinating, vital, and often surprising texts and people that fill our library. Come talk in our library!

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Liberty Matters

The OLL brings people together to debate and discuss important texts and big ideas about liberty.

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Liberty Matters: A Forum for the Discussion of Ideas About Liberty Is Machiavelli Friend or Foe to Liberty? (May 2022)

Niccolo Machiavelli remains one of the most contested figures in the history of liberalism. Was he an advocate of republican government, or an adviser to tyrants? Did he preach a politics of fear or a politics of civility? We asked several scholars where they thought Machiavelli's place in this history ought to be. Over the course of this month, you'll hear from a variety of disciplines and per...

Explore the OLL Collection: Quotations About Liberty and Power David Hume believes we should assume all men are self-interested knaves when it comes to politics (1777)

The Scottish philosopher and historian David Hume (1711-1776) believed that when thinking about politics we should assume that every man and every institution pursues their own self-interest often at the expense of the public good:

Explore the OLL Collection: Images of Liberty and Power Abraham Lincoln as the "Federal Phoenix" (1864)

Abraham Lincoln as the "Federal Phoenix" rising from the fire of the American Constitution (1864) John Tenniel, "The Federal Phoenix", Punch, Volume 47, December 3, 1864. Source Allan T. Kohl, Minneapolis College of Art & Design. <The Federal Phoenix>....